‘To learn who rules over you’ quote wrongly attributed to Voltaire

To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize" This is a great quote.  It is also a paraphrase of words written by a neo-Nazi.

Apparently, a white supremacist is a person who ought to be rightfully credited with this quote.  Some sources state that the neo nazi also pled guilty to child sex offenses.

 For me, this does not make this untrue.   Even if the person credited with this quote wasn't known to be a frequent finder of goodness and Truth on his journey through life,  he stumbled upon it at least once because this represents a common life truth.

As a Survivor of CSA, I can tell you that the people who abused me said true things sometimes. This can contribute to any criminal's ability to get away with their crimes.  Sometimes they speak a little truth. People believe everything else that they say. 

Like most predators, the people who abused me were pretty clever. That's how they got over on people who love me, including an extended family member who is a police officer. That's what made it challenging for me to come forward. I was young. Who would believe me? Everyone around me liked these people that I knew were evil, violent, and awful.

Clever criminals should never come as a surprise to us. In the criminal world, being clever is the norm. 

I suspect that the originator of this quote likely used this truth as a weapon in the furtherance of restricting the voices and human rights of people based on race, ethnicity, religion, geographic location, and being female and being a child. 

Weapons That Silence Us

For many people, the inability to speak out against wrong has always been a part of our lives. You don't have to Convince Victims of domestic violence of this life truth. You don't have to work too hard to convince victims of sexual violence of this life truth.

Ditto for minorities, women, people who practice various religions, people with disabilities, children, elderly etc...

Who has you silenced right now, and why?

A supervisor? Family member? 

Relationship partner? Organizational leader? 

Political leader? 

And, why?

Money? Fear? Terror? Shame? Embarrassment?

Even if we choose to remain silent, it is worth it to examine those choices for ourselves. It is worth it to then evaluate whether those choices are serving us. 

Journal Prompts: Who Has You Silenced Right Now and Why? by Tonya GJ Prince